Dr. Wendy Salmond

Dean Jennifer D. Keene recently announced two endowed professor appointments in Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Dr. Wendy Salmond now holds the inaugural Martha Weidlein Masters Professor in Art and Dr. Kyle Longley was named the Henry Salvatori Professor of American Values and Traditions. Both endowed professorships provide research funds to advance scholarship and teaching.

Dr. Salmond received a newly endowed professorship from the estate of Martha Weidlein Masters, class of 1937, who noted in her 1996 bequest that “my two short years at Chapman University were especially meaningful years. I hope this gift will aid other students to achieve an equally unforgettable scholastic experience.”

Dr. Kyle Longley

The Salvatori Professorship became vacant when Dr. Robert Slayton, the previous holder, retired in spring 2022. This endowed professorship was instituted in 1994 to inspire in students an interest in preserving and revitalizing America’s foundational principles and traditional values, including freedom, leadership, democracy, and equal opportunity.

Dr. Salmond is a scholar of Russian and early Soviet art, architecture, and design. With this appointment she plans on researching collections in Florida, Oregon, and upstate New York, that she otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do so. In addition to that, she is excited to purchase images for her book, Russian Icons in America.

“Travel and publishing funds are precious resources for an art historian, and this gift will make all the difference to the way I do my work,” said Dr. Salmond. “My research is an integral part of how I feel I can help students benefit from their time at Chapman – not because I expect them to be enthused by the Russian icons I study, but because it shows them that the excitement of learning is never over,” she said.

Dr. Longley joined the Wilkinson faculty in July 2020 as the new director of the MA  in War, Diplomacy, and Society.

“The Henry Salvatori Professor of American Values and Traditions will provide me with the resources necessary to continue to produce important works related to my research interests,” said Dr. Longley.

Most recently his research includes two forthcoming books, The Forever Soldiers: Americans at War in Afghanistan and Iraq and The Life of LBJ:  Days in the Life of America’s 36th President.

“I will do my best to build on the work of the previous holder, Dr. Robert Slayton, and be a good representative for Chapman University to the students and the community,” noted Longley.